Why I don’t hire minors to do the work of professionals
On a recent post at Shoemoney Blog I took some abuse because of my admitted prejudice regarding working with minors.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against young blood in any way, so try to keep the content of this post in context please.
First of all hiring minors is illegal unless one obtains a Parent/School Authorization Form 
legal considerations aside, I quite simply chose not to Outsource my work to minors at a professional level, because I feel it’s prejudicial to my business.
Every single time that I hired young students to work for me things went sour. Either they completely disappeared, couldn’t handle constructive criticism or just weren’t able to handle the pressure.
The way I see it you are not a professional until you depend on a certain activity for your livelihood. Doesn’t mean that you aren’t good at what you do, just means that you are still a couple of steps away from a more serious commitment that in the end will give me, as an employer, more assurance that you will be held accountable for your actions during the time we are working together. I like working with professionals, they know how my business operates and they understand the importance of accountablilty and communication.
Professionals have more to lose then an amateur, as everything that happens will have a direct impact on their career.
A Professional: Someone engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.
Livelihood…think about that for a minute, ah yes, livelihood! House mortage, bills, taxes, Adult life!
I am sorry if this post is offensive, and I understand that there are a lof of mature youngsters out there that have gone through a lot in their lives, and I am sure many of them have a life experience equivalent to a 40 year old, but its strictly a business choice.
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i like your blatant honest style Pedro.
but i think it’s all down to the person. i have had awful experiences with more experienced pseudo-professionals, and have had great experiences with working with talented teenagers.
Well, i prefer mature women… erm… sorry, forgot we’re talking about business…
My favorites are doers… people that simply DO the job. I really have no time to sayers. About the age, i won’t ask for ID unless i suspect you still use dipers!
Hahaha indeed Rui!
What I am saying though is that as a precautionary measure I tend to protect myself with hiring policy that prevents me from have to go though that ordeal in the first place.
Pedro, most of us that are in the business as pro’s do the same, we just don’t say it out loud.
Nice points Pedro! I certainly agree on some of your points, despite my own age. Whilst pressure is something that can bug me on and off (depending on my workload), constructive criticsm isn’t something that bugs me. As for disappearing!??! That’s just… Weird.
lol
As for offence? None take whatsoever – great read.
That was quite unexpected David!
I must say that if that isn’t a mature response to criticism (although not directly aimed at you) I don’t know what is!
Very well done and Kudos to you.